Process equipment types

SAIC provided much of the data used in this book from its proprietary files of previously analyzed and selected information. Since these data were primarily from the nuclear power industry, a literature search and industry survey described in Chapter 4 were conducted to locate other sources of data specific to the process equipment types in the CCPS Taxonomy. Candidate data resources identified through this effort were reviewed, and the appropriate ones were selected. Applicable failure rate data were extracted from them for the CCPS Generic Failure Rate Data Base. The resources that provided failure information are listed in Table 5.1 with data reference numbers used in the data tables to show where the data originated. 

As can be seen from the various bullet points listed at the beginning of this chapter, the permutations of potential problems by industry, process, equipment type, and specific area are extremely wide. Consequently, to preempt such problems developing, or at least to con-... 

We designed this system to allow various 1 mL scale continuous process equipment types (e.g., reactors, separators) to be modularly inserted. The microreactor... 

Table 3 lists typical failure rate data for a variety of types of process equipment. Large variations between these numbers and specific equipment can be expected. However, this table demonstrates a very fundamental principle the more compHcated the device, the higher the failure rate. Thus switches and thermocouples have low failure rates gas—Hquid chromatographs have high failure rates. 

Most Type A processes might be classified as chemical processes, whereas most Type B processes are classified as mechanical processes. Representative examples of both types of processes foUow. Type B processes tend to be promoted by organizations that seU and service equipment for producing microcapsules. Most Type A processes are not promoted by equipment manufacturers, but are developed and used by organizations that produce microcapsules. 

The coating thickness may range from 0.0025 to 0.05 mm, depending on the type of protection required. Pure tin coatings are used on food-processing equipment, milk cans, kitchen implements, electronic and electrical components, fasteners, steel and copper wire, pins, automotive bearings, and pistons. 

Gleaning. Fouling films are removed from the membrane surface by chemical and mechanical methods. Chemicals and procedures vary with the process, membrane type, system configuration, and materials of constmction. The equipment manufacturer recommends cleaning methods for specific apphcations. A system is considered clean when it has returned to >75% of its original water flux. 

Distillation appHcations can be characterized by the type of materials separated, such as petroleum appHcations, gas separations, electrolyte separations, etc. These appHcations have specific characteristics in terms of the way or the correlations by which the physical properties are deterrnined or estimated the special configurations of the process equipment such as having side strippers, multiple product withdrawals, and internal pump arounds the presence of reactions or two Hquid phases etc. Various distillation programs can model these special characteristics of the appHcations to varying degrees and with more or less accuracy and efficiency. 

Equipment Suite An equipment suite is the collection of equipment available for producing a group of products. Normally, this group of products is similar in certain respects. For example, they might all be manufactured from the same major raw materials. Within the equipment suite, material transfer and metering capabilities are available for these raw materials. The equipment suite contains all of the necessary types of processing equipment (reactors, separators, and so on) reqiiired to convert the raw materials into salable products. A plant may consist of only one suite of equipment, but large plants usually contain multiple equipment suites. 

All but the very simplest equipment suites contain multiple process units. The minimum number of process units is one for each type of processing equipment required to make a batch of product. However, many equipment suites contain multiple process units of each type. In such equipment suites, multiple batches and multiple production runs can be in progress at a given time. 

The combination of these characteristics utihzed in the various types of process equipment is indicated in Table 14-4. 

FIG. 18-67 Direct -contact-refngeration crystallizer (D l t3 type), (Sujenson Process Equipment, Inc.)... 

FIG. 18-89 Reactor-clarifier of the high-rate solids-contact type. (EIMCO Process Equipment Co.)... 

Many successful types of reactors are illustrated throughout this section. Additional sketches may be found in other books on this topic, particularly in Walas Chemical Process Equipment Selection and Design, Butterworths, 1990) and Ullmann Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (in German), vol. 3, Verlag Chemie, 1973, pp. 321-518). 

Rupture Disks A rupture disk is a device designed to function by the bursting of a pressure-retaining disk (Fig. 26-15). This assembly consists of a thin, circular membrane usually made of metal, plastic, or graphite that is firmly clamped in a disk holder. When the process reaches the bursting pressure of the disk, the disk ruptures and releases the pressure. Rupture disks can be installed alone or in combination with other types of devices. Once blown, rupture disks do not reseat thus, the entire contents of the upstream process equipment will be vented. Rupture disks are commonly used in series (upstream) with a relief valve to prevent corrosive fluids from contacting the metal parts of the valve. In addition, this combination is a reclosing system. 

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